A Place To Call Home
by solareclipse117
Summary: A Naruto fan fiction in which the hyper active blue eyed blonde dose not show up in. Ino x Sakura shoujo ai. On hiatus.
1. A place to call home

Okay this particular fan fiction takes places during the time skip, after Sasuke leaves but before Naruto returns. Once again this is a Naruto fan fic where the blue eyed blonde will not appear in for it is mostly a shoujo ai story.

I will warn you up front that I'm not very gifted when it comes to grammar and spelling, so please don't mind the errors in the story that I probably missed.

I guess that's enough of my blabbing nonsense, so with out further ado. I PRESENT YOU WITH THIS FIRST CHAPTER OF-

A PLACE TO CALL HOME.

Warmth emitting from the sun struck down ruthlessly, scorching the land that made up the fire country. The village that was _supposedly_ hidden with in leaves was not well foliaged enough to escape this heat wave. As it is well known, being active during these high temperatures is unhealthy for the untrained body. So it is only natural for human beings to be more relaxed during the summer, to be vacationing, taking a nice trip to the wave county for some recreationally time, right? Well sure you can do that...as long as you're not a ninja.

Summertime hardly meant playtime for the hard working ninja class, it was during this time when waves of lethargic ness and waves of heat beat down upon the honorable town that D and C rank missions come poring in harder then rain falling down over the hidden village of rain. Yes usually these mediocre tasks are handed down to the seedlings of the village other wise known as genin. But seeing as the tiny buds don't fully develop (graduate) until fall, these burdens are placed on more reliable shinobi whose talents are wasted on the painfully easy tasks, that would be consider acceptable for the new batches of deluded and sheltered ninja's.

The head ninja of Konoha, Godaime Hokage wiped an annoying strand of perspiration from her brown as she read over the mission log of one of the more promising ninja of their generation. At the age of 14 made chunin and now at the age of 16 had many successful A and B rank missions under their belt, and who in the last 36 hours completed 7 D rank missions and 3 C rank ones.

"Good work Ino." The Hokage said. She tiredly looked away from the papers and gazed at the towheaded kunoichi who looked just as worn out as she. Tsunade gave the hard working teen a warm smile and added, "I'd say you've earned a few days rest."

As heavenly as not being assigned another annoying mission sounded, Ino reminded herself of what she was and who she was talking to as she bit her lower lip and half heartedly replied; "Thank you for your kind offer Hokage-sama, but I can still do more missions if it is needed."

It was obvious to the member of the legendry Sannin that the young girl barely wanted to move let alone be condemned to other low ranking mission, which was all the Hokage could offer her at the present time. Scowling at formal decline Tsunade went about the matter in another way. "If any more _troublesome_ missions come up I can always assign them to Shikamaru, I'm sure he won't mind."

The thought of her lazy teammate running around doing the kind of work he loathed as a genin brought a grin to the pale girl's face. "I'm sure Shika-kun wouldn't mind that," Ino said grinning evilly.

"Good, now get out of here." Tsunade replied lightheartedly and nodded her head towards the door that was flanked by two ANBU ninja's. Ino bowed her head before turning towards the door. "Oh and Ino," Tsunade called out.

Ino turned around and answered; "Y-yes Hokage-sama," a little nervously, fearful that she changed her mind and had another assignment for her.

"When I do call you back from leave, be prepared for at least a B rank mission," Tsunade said.

"Yes ma'am." Ino said one last time before excusing herself for the Hokage's office. After the young chunin left Tsunade attempted to resume working on the monstrous amount of paper work that seemed only to be getting lager rather then smaller the more time she spent on it.

"Ano...Hokage-sama," one of the ANBU asked carefully.

"What," she replied shortly not even looking up from her work as she spoke.

"Is it really such a good idea to entrust those mission's to the Nara boy...I mean he's not exactly...motivated to do such work," he stated truthfully. The other ANBU who stood opposite of the talking one nodded in agreement.

"True..." Tsunade agreed. "But he needs to get his head out of the clouds." She said and waved a few documents in the air that looked an awful lot like mission applications. "I think that this is just what the doctor ordered...Hiro!" she barked out. The silent ANBU stepped forward.

"Bring Nara Shikamaru to my office," Tsunade commanded in a stern tone that didn't quite match the playful glint in her eyes. Hiro bowed politely as Ino did mere minutes ago, before leaving the office in a flashy poof of air. "This should be amusing." The slug summoner mused, comparing the thought of the lazy chuunin doing work, to her doing work. A sigh escaped from the heavy chest of Tsunade whilst she resumed her duty to the village and sorted though the mass amount of paper work that needed to be done.

* * *

The sun that seemed to torture Ino while she labored over tedious tasks out in the blaring heat, now seemed to smile down upon her as she walked home knowing that she wouldn't be called in, for at least week or so. In fact the blazing ball of fire made her smirk knowing that Shikamaru would be getting his just deserts for his resent idleness...Then again it always seemed as if the genius chunin was always sluggishly dragging himself about.

Noises coming from small children playing 'ninja' in the street was a common sound to hear in Konoha. Now having the leisurely time on her hand to do such things Ino stopped walking so she could watch the mischievous tikes run around throwing paper projectiles at each other. The shortest kid with a beat up plastic forehead protector positioned on his head was the supposed bad 'missing nin' due to the long scrapes all over the hand-me-down.

"Hey come on stop that," he yelled in high pitched voice. The red headed boy held up his arms to block the fast approaching barrage of shuriken. He proceeded to keep his arms up blocking what would be important vitals if the weapons were real, but for now just served as a haven from the hail of paper. Due to the force at which they were thrown the academy student fell flat on his arse after the volley ceased to continue and tears began to swell in his eyes while the other children laughed at his expense.

Ino frowned in disgust when one of the older kids stepped forward shoving other kids aside so that he could most likely kick the smaller boy while he was down. "Know the pain of disgracing your village, you cry baby ninja," he said in a deep high and mighty voice and prepared his right foot to hit the roughed up boy in one swift movement.

However when the bully moved his leg forward he came in contact with nothing but air, causing him to lose his balance and fall in the same spot where the red haired boy laid mere seconds ago. "Hey where'd that brat go," he yelled in confusion, he whipped his sandy colored head around trying to find his pray. His confused brown eyes spotted the object he was looking for in the arms of much bigger kid whose pupil less cerulean eyes flashed angrily at him. "Who're you?" he asked and began to crab walk backwards, for the first time in his life the sandy haired youth could actual _fee_l the murderous intent that was poring out of Ino.

She gave the kid a sinister sneer and replied in a cool tone, "Backup." Ino then pulled a real shuriken out of her pouch and prepared to throw it. At the sight of the sharp metal pointy thing all five boys got up and ran away before she could even release the weapon from her hand. "Humph, and they called you disgrace, nothing's more pathetic then cowards who don't stand their own ground." She stated. Ino then looked down at the upset child in her arms "Ne?" she asked giving this kid a much kinder smile then the one she gave to the fleeing children.

"M-mmm," the small boy nodded sucking in a sob and rubbing the tears out of his eyes. "T...thank you," he said meekly to Ino after she gently placed him back on the ground.

"No problem." Ino smiled and ruffled up the boy's red hair, she began to walk away from the kid until he yelled out.

"Kenpachi, my name's Aiko Kenpachi, thanks again Onee-san" Ino turned around to see Kenpachi grinning at her wildly. "Onee-san you're really a ninja aren't you" His blue eyes lit up as he looked Ino over.

His first clue was the forehead protector around her waist with the Konoha emblem engraved into it, but her entire attire just seemed to shout out 'I'm a Ninja!' most non-shinobi women in the village never wore fishnet, and if they did it was mostly to show off and flaunt 'inappropriate things' as Kenpachi's father would say. But Kenpachi himself didn't see anything wrong or inappropriate about the small spots fishnet on her elbows and knees. Also whereas most girls in the village wore long frilly skirts Ino's skirt was a bit different, it had shorts underneath it so she could jump high leaps and bounds without having to worry about her knickers showing. Her top was fairly normal, just a sleeveless button up shirt, that showed some of her midriff. But that bare patch of skin that was unclothed only showed part of her well muscular stomach, not only her stomach but her exposed legs and arms also seemed to be fairly well built as well. All in all when Kenpachi looked up at Ino he couldn't help but think 'sugoi' and admire the female ninja.

The blonde shinobi gave Kenpachi a sheepish grin, for the last couple of minutes the kid was eyeing her up and down with an expression she couldn't quite place. "Yeah...I'm a ninja." Ino said and idly sheathed her shuriken. Kenpachi beamed even more when he saw the arsenal of ninja tools hidden beneath the flaps of her skort.

"Wow!" he chirped. "Ne ne Onee-san what rank are you," he asked excitedly practically bouncing up and down on the heals of his sandals.

"Chunin." Ino replied warily. It seemed like a good idea a few minutes ago to help the kid out but now she began to regret it as he looked up at her with saucer-sized watery eyes.

"Amazing!" he yelped. "Ne Onee-san," he said once more, erupting a sigh from Ino

"What?" she asked her face dropping noticeably with each passing second. '_Geez this kid's annoying...maybe if I draw another shuriken he'll run away like the others..._'

"I wanna be a cool ninja like you someday," he said happily before running off to find new friends to play with. Ino had barely enough time to comprehend what exactly he just said. In fact when she went to call out his name she realized that the young ninja to be was long gone. With no trace of him to be seen Ino frowned and continued her walk.

If anything she wanted to warn him that being a ninja meant you had to grow up fast. Real fast. Once you graduate from the academy you're too overwhelmed with happiness and excited from all the praise given to you from peers and family, the fact that you just sold your mind, body, and soul to the village doesn't even occur to you. Being a ninja isn't a game like the one Kenpachi and the other boys were playing. Although their was some truth that could be found while 'playing ninja'. For example if you fall behind on a mission and are surrounded by the enemy, you had better pray to kami or what ever higher being you believe in that a teammate will come and save you because other wise you're name will be engraved in a stone that only one jounin that Ino knew of visited very often.

'_Being a ninja..._' Ino thought as she walked past a flower shop with her family name written in bright colors _'...means you can't rely on your parents forever'_ while exhaling her last breath loudly Ino trudged the rest of the way towards the two bedroom apartment that she was now forced to regard as home for the time being.

* * *

Sorry for the slow start

Next chapter is where Sakura shows up and the story really begins. Thanks so much for reading this and it would be very much appreciated if you left a review.


	2. Blooming bud

'_Damn,_' Ino cursed in her mind after gazing at the tall apartment complex before her. '_Why did I have to choose the one on the top floor?_' She mentally asked herself while climbing the annoying staircase. Even though a few stairs shouldn't even be considered a problem for a ninja, she couldn't help but wish that her room was closer to the ground at the moment. '_Then again..._' she thought when she looked at the view the higher altitude had to offer, '_I suppose it's not that bad.'_ She lingered at the top of the stairwell for a while enjoying for the first time in a while the sense of freedom she now had. When Ino first obtained the title chunin, everyone was proud of her and the other half of rookie nine that succeeded in passing the test held in the hidden village of Cloud.

Hinata and Sakura were the only ones who didn't pass that time; and Gai's team didn't even show up at the exam because Gai felt that they should wait a little while before attempting another chunin exam. Seeing as what happened at the last exam (Lee being taken off of active duty for several months and Neji...not quite acting like Neji after losing to the 'drop out of Konoha') his subordinates didn't argue with him. Sakura also wasn't able to participate as well, because of her illegitimate team formation (With Sasuke gone missing and Naruto off gallivanting god knows where with his new perverted sensei) she couldn't take the exam by herself.

Even though Hinata surprised everyone by winning her match in the third part of the test she just didn't seem to be worthy enough for the title chunin or at least she didn't seem capable like that in the eyes of the Raikage and the other judges of that exam. But another chunin exam latter Gai's team passed with flying colors in the Grass Country, while Hinata and Sakura teamed up with another leaf genin and passed the exam on their third try.

But as everyone began to grow into stronger and more independent shinobi, they either began to drift away from their respective clans or gained a higher status making them more influential to their family and to the village. Hinata, as most everyone knows is the successor to the head family of the Hyuuga clan. Because of this both she and Neji have been on less dangerous missions and more diplomatic ones.

Ino didn't even want to think about what went on in the Aburame clan so she wasn't sure where Shino stood in his family, but he was certainly starting to look more important or at least more secretive with all the overcoats and trench coats he wore, plus she could have sworn that bug boy owned more sunglasses the all of Konoha put together. Kiba wasn't really all too attached to his family to begin with. The Inuzuka clan dwell in the forests surrounding Konoha so that they could be more at peace with the wolves they consider companions. Ino once overheard Kiba speaking to Shino that his mother had yet again kicked him out for a few days. Not that Kiba minded much he was used to the outdoors and as long as he had Akamaru with him he could careless what his mother wanted him to do.

Chouji was beginning to look more and more like his father with each passing day since the 'big boned' ninja went through several growth sprits and became more muscular rather then chubbier. The Akimichi prodigy is now responsible for a new development in the Houren pill making them less dangerous for the consumer of the pills and also more effective for longer periods of time. She hadn't seen him around much since his research began but Ino could just picture Chouji working his fingers to the grind to produce the incredible pills.

Her other teammate Shikamaru was hardly ever around anymore. Always hiding out in his own secluded little world, trying to avoid the troublesome things life throws at him. He was the first one out of their graduating class to make it to chunin, and because of his early promotion Shikamaru tackles most missions as the squad leader. Because of his constant away ness he hasn't kept much contact with his family. Ino didn't blame him; if her mom were that intimidating she would have moved out sooner as well.

The reason for Ino leaving her home wasn't because her parent's kicked her out or because she got sick of them and left. As chunin Ino's missions became longer and more complex; her assignments were no longer 'escort the important Daimyo back to his country'. But more 'infiltrate this missing nin's and rescue one of our own, the rank and number of ninja's guarding it are unknown, but take down as many of them as you can.

Nothing like coming back to the village after killing seven or eight men, reporting yourself to the Hokage, only then to rush home to eat dinner with your folks. Staying at home with her parents just became awkward after a few missions like that. So it was a mutual agreement when the young florist moved away from home. She still continued to train with her Father on weekends when they both weren't busy, which was proving to be rarer and rarer as time progressed. But aside from those few training event's she was completely unattached to her family. It was a sort of freedom that Ino feared at first but was now comfortable with.

With a renewed smile on her face Ino turned away from the landscape she was gazing at and walked towards her room. '165...166...167...168...' she counted in her mind while looking at the black numbers written on the doors as she walked by them, and stopped once she reached the door that read **169**. Ino then opened the door and walked into bare yet homey apartment, and closed the door behind her with no intention to lock it.

In the shinobi world a locked door isn't even considered to be an obstacle, so in a town where 75 percent of the populace were ninjas there was no reason for her to lock it. And if some kind of unwanted visitor were to show up Ino would kindly escort him or her to the window with a kunai lodged in their back. Now if the unwanted visitor were lucky enough Ino wouldn't be present at the time of their arrival so her roommate would have the honor of greeting them. Meaning they'd live...However, they would be living out the rest of their days in the very hospital at which Sakura worked at.

Haruno Sakura was the other occupant of this particular apartment, after having yet another fight with her mother their final falling out resulted in Sakura moving out. The girls bumped into each other while searching for apartments in the same area. After swapping stories the two agreed rent would be easier to pay if they stuck together. Now that Sasuke was gone their really wasn't much for the two of them to argue about. Then again ninja's are required to look underneath the underneath for a living, so the two chunin still find many random things to squabble about.

"I'm back," Ino half shouted while relinquishing her aching feet from the binds of her sandals.

"Ino-chan," Sakura spoke and looked away from the scroll she was reading while lying on the couch, one of the few pieces of furniture they owned. The others being the beds on which they slept. Two tables (one in the kitchen, the other in the living room) and a few chairs. "You're back awful early." She commented after taking a brief look out the window.

A grin washed over Ino's facial features while an interesting thought plagued her mind "I only came back to prep for my next mission," she replied in a fake tired tone she then sprawled out on the living room floor in an exhausted position.

"Oh, what rank?" Sakura asked, the resent D and C rank missions Ino had been assigned to hardly required prepping for.

"A top priority S-rank mission that the Godaime thought I could handle." Ino said and looked up to see the priceless expression on Sakura's face.

"S...S-rank...how long should it take?" Sakura asked her voice betrayed her feelings of jealously and partly fear. S-rank missions were hardly something to laugh at, that rank of missions always had a high mortality-rate. Then again to have the Hokage herself recommend you for one is a high honor.

"Oh...I'd say about seven or so days starting affective immediately," Ino said.

"Affective...immediately," Sakura repeated, she was slightly confused by the wording until she saw the grin on Ino's face. "And what exactly is the objective of this 'S-rank mission,'" she asked and raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"To relax and do absolutely nothing for seven days, eat as much as I want, and sleep in till the cows come home," Ino replied.

Sakura's face lit up, "You're on vacation!" She exclaimed.

"Yep the only missions coming in right now aren't worthy of my talents so Hokage-sama told me to take a few days off," Ino yawned.

"Lucky you," Sakura scoffed and returned to reading over her medical scroll, but after several minutes she soon found it hard to concentrate on the script with Ino staring at her. "What?" she asked and once again looked down at her roommate.

"Huh?" Was the blank reply that came from Ino, who hadn't even realized she was staring at Sakura. "Ah my bad, I was just thinking about what to do with the time off but your big forehead must have distracted me."

If one were to look hard enough they might have been able to see the small vein that seemed to pop on Sakura's oh so large forehead. "Is that so?" Sakura asked her mouth twitching ever so slightly.

Ino grinned it was all in good nature that they teased each other like this. "Yeah, don't you have a paper bag or something to cover that humongous thing up or are there none large enough for you...dekochin-chan," Ino teased.

The small vein that you had to squint to see a few seconds ago was now progressively getting larger as the taunting continued. "Well we certainly know that they're no paper bags in existence that are big enough to hide you hideous body...Ino-buta." An identical vein appeared on Ino's head whilst the two kunoichi glared daggers at each other. The staring contest continued for a few seconds until it ended abruptly when the two broke out simultaneously into laughter.

"We really haven't matured much since we were little, have we?" Sakura chuckled.

"I don't know about you Sakura but I certainly have matured," Ino said and patted her chest to further anger the medic nin.

"Ino-buta!" Sakura hissed through clenched teeth before throwing a pillow at the snickering blonde.

"Hey!" Ino protested and threw the soft object back at Sakura who skillfully dodged it, by jumping behind the sofa. Ino retrieved the pillow and ambushed Sakura from behind. The hiding girl yelped when the cushion was slammed over her head. It was when Ino brought her arms up to swing again that Sakura saw an opening to launch her next attack. With slender dexterous fingers she tickled Ino's exposed stomach. With no cloth to shield her from the sensation Ino dropped the pillow and let out a string of giggles. "Sakura stop that" Ino yelled as she too fell to the floor. To be able to continue her devious onslaught Sakura got on top of Ino and pinned her flailing arms down, she then used free hand to tickle the blonde's ticklish sides. "Kami-sama...stop...please!" Ino begged in between bursts of laughter.

"Oh and why should I do that?" Sakura asked and let out an evil laughter.

"Cause _ snicker _ you _chuckle _ you're _ chortle _ nice _giggle _Not there! And _ snort _ merciful" she tried to reason whilst the laughter overwhelmed her to tears. When Sakura contemplated stopping Ino used her free arm and rubbed her fingers against Sakura's underarm. Which caused her attacker to gasp and release Ino's other arm. With both arms now useable Ino pushed Sakura off of her and onto the ground where Ino then hovered above her and attacked the pink haired girl just as she did to her mere moments ago.

"Ino-chan stop!" Sakura protested, she then found herself immobilized from uncontrollable giggling.

"Oh and why should I do that?" Ino asked and grinned wickedly when she used Sakura's own words against her. Sakura glared at Ino with the utmost intensity she could muster while laughing her guts out, which didn't prove to be all that intimidating.

Their small tickle fight continued for nearly an hour with the two kunoichi rolling around on the floor trying to out match each other. It wasn't until they both collapsed to the ground gasping for breath that a truce was called for. "So it's another tie?" Sakura asked while she laid virtual on top of her rival.

"Looks like it." Ino said her eyes were shut tight as if opening them would take too much strength away from her. Her already redden cheeks became even more flushed when she felt Sakura's depleted breath against her ears. "O-oi dekochin get off of me." Ino said and gave Sakura a light shove to encourage the pick haired girl to move.

"Alright, alright Ino-buta," Sakura replied as she sat up; while sitting up Sakura couldn't help but notice the blush in Ino's face grow redder (if that was humanly possible). She was technically still sitting on Ino just not laying on her, but from this different view point Sakura could see that their rolling around on the ground and attacking one another caused all but one of the buttons on Ino's shirt to come undone. Luckily Ino had bandages around her chest to prevent the situation from getting uncomfortable. A feeling of dread washed over Sakura as she remembered that she didn't wrap bandages around her chest, and that she only wore _very_ thin fishnet shirt under her zippered top.

Mortified Sakura moved her pink head downwards and looked at her own top to see that the zipper had been completely undone. Moving at a speed that would put Rock Lee to shame she was completely off of Ino and was soon fixing her top 4 feet away from the other chunin. Meanwhile all air flowing the blonde's lungs had completely constricted, as **that **image of Sakura was forever burned into her mind.

Absentmindedly Ino sat herself up and re-buttoned her top. She looked over at Sakura who was now competing with Ino over who had the most blood residing in their face. The silence that filled the empty void where their laughter and giggles once frolicked was beyond awkward. Ino attempted to kill it by coughing...but that didn't seem to help the mood much. "Well Sakura..." Ino said and stood up only to walk past her friend and move into the kitchen area. "You've certainly _matured_ into quite the flower." Years of shinobi training helped Ino hear the near inaudible reply from the embarrassed medic

"Pervert."


	3. Rainy Night Memories

A/N: Holy cow, 8 reviews for chapter two alone! Thanks so much for all of those who reviewed, I hope you all like the third chapter as much as you liked the last one.

Ino tossed a few grounded up herbs into an already simmering pot of spices in an attempt to make a decent batch of curry for her and Sakura to eat. Working at a flower shop most her life gave her a deep understanding of all plants whither it be flowers that people wanted to purchase, herbs for a quick boost of energy while on a mission or even undergrowth that could kill or intoxicate an enemy if prepared properly. But in this case the background knowledge of shrubbery helped fill the florist's craving for spicy food.

Behind her Sakura was cleaning off the kitchen table that had else wise been cluttered by scrolls, kunai, explosive tags, electric bills, some kind of important news letter (that soon found homage in the waste bin) and several other objects that didn't exactly belong their. This was usually how they worked together during the evening time. One of them would cook and the other would make the table suitable for eating off of. Even if the two girls bickered constantly and at were each others throat more times then not, it didn't necessarily mean that they couldn't work together.

"Oi Ino-chan stop hogging all the food you pig," Sakura commented after watching Ino eat a portion of the curry to see if it was ready or not.

Ino sat dinner down on the now cleansed table and retorted, "Why do you care how much I eat, it's not like you need any more mass added to your billboard of a head."

"Buta." Sakura glared from across the table

"Dekochin." Ino said returning the glower and insult.

Ok so maybe their love for insulting each other got the better of them; even while doing minor tasks that didn't require the harsh remarks. But it really is a sincere sight to bear witness to when the kunoichi actually do work together. "Itadakimasu!" Sakura and Ino chimed in unison before digging into the warm meal.

While making the dinner to her specific hot and spicy likings Ino dimly forgot that Sakura probably wasn't used to the fiery and zesty taste of Yamanaka cooking that she grew up with. So it wasn't much of a surprise to the blonde ninja when Sakura's face grew red and sweaty after consuming a small bite sized portion of curry. Immediately the medic nin grabbed her glass of water and guzzled it down as if she had swallowed a Katon jutsu instead of food.

"What're trying to do Ino-chan, kill me!" Sakura questioned, her face naturally restoring to it's pale color although a small tinge of red could still be found on her cheeks due to the slight anger directed at Ino.

"Sorry, I didn't think it was that hot," Ino said honestly taking a bite out of her dinner to see just how spicy it was. She did have to admit it was a bit hotter then she usually made it, "I can make something else if you don't like this."

"No its fine...just a little warning would be appreciated next time," Sakura replied and carefully took another bite now prepared for the zesty curry.

"Understandable." Ino commented and resumed eating as well. Their conversation then drifted to more eventful topics, such as the weather, work, rookie nine, and other such things.

"Lee-kun actually said that to you!" Ino asked flabbergasted at Sakura's previous proclamation.

"Well not exactly, his words had a bit more of a...youthful attitude to them." Sakura said remembering that Lee's simple statement had several unnecessary phrases and metaphors added to it.

Ino snorted, "I can imagine...Soooo what did you say after that." She questioned, it was obvious to most of Konoha that Lee had a crush the size of Orochimaru's tongue, on Sakura...As disturbing as that was, seeing as the _thing _that lashes out of that man's mouth is endless.

"Well...I..." Sakura blushed and fumbled with her chopsticks even now at the age of 16 Sakura still had trouble when dealing with boys. It wasn't that they were unpleasant it's just that when boy's, for example Lee, expressed their love towards her a feeling of insecurity would swell up in her gut. "...I said that I had...um... paperwork that needed to be filed."

"Jeez Haruno you really are something," Ino sighed and slumped down into her chair. "The guy expresses his undying love for you, in a _very_ youthful manor mind you," Ino added to get a giggle out of Sakura. "...And you just brush him off like an annoying bug."

"Lee-san isn't an annoying bug to me," Sakura protested a little too defensively causing Ino to raise an eyebrow at her outburst. "He's not like _that_ to me either," she said after seeing the look in Ino's eye.

"Then what is he to you?" Ino asked and listened intently for Sakura's answer.

"He's...he's one of my very important friends." Sakura replied blushing a bit, while Ino resisted the urge to laugh at the corny response. "Lee-san is like an older brother the way he's always watching out for my back. I couldn't possibly go out with him...It would be too...Awkward." Sakura said after searching for the right words to describe how she felt.

"I suppose that's a good reason, but you said the same thing about Naruto. If that loud mouth is like family too then who isn't 'related' to you that you're interested in," Ino asked.

"..." Sakura didn't reply, there was someone but she didn't dare utter their name.

Ino groaned before filling in the gap. "Sasuke," she half asked half stated, Sakura nodded her pink head in response. "Still?" she honestly asked.

"...Yeah." Sakura said in a glum tone. "He...That is Sasuke-kun...He's not like Naruto or Lee-san...He's special."

"I'll say!" Ino spat in a sarcastic tone. "Sakura that bastard knocked you out after you told him you'd do anything for him...Anything you were ready to leave Konoha and everything you had here for him. And what does he do, the jerk knocked you out cold and left you on a bench in the dead of night to catch pneumonia or something, he didn't...He doesn't care about you!" Ino protested and then clamed down after she watched Sakura's face fall at the memory. "You can do much better then Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura. I know he was your first crush and all and you want to cling on to him in hopes that he'll return your love...But...You should move on," Ino said sincerely.

"What do you know!" Sakura asked harshly, she picked up her head and pierced Ino with her intense green eyes. "What do you know about him Ino? Sasuke-kun...He is going to come back. If not then me and Naruto will go after him, we promised we would! He isn't...I can't...I won't just forget about him Sasuke-kun's my friend my teammate my..." the words died on Sakura's lips when she found that she could no longer hold back the tears any longer.

Sighing whole heartedly Ino got up from the table and walked around it to place her arms over her distressed friend. "It was all Orochimaru...Sasuke-kun would never just run off like that. It was that stupid seal that made him do it a-and th-those sound ninja's that beat him up, they must have messed with his mind...it wasn't his fault, Sasuke-kun **is** going to come back to us... to me."

Ino bit her lip, a habit she found herself doing often now when she had to say something that she didn't want to. "Sakura... Not only did he attack you, but he hurt Naruto as well. Those two were like brothers, they knew each others pain, they trained to help each other get stronger. Yet Sasuke still seriously wounded him. You saw him in the hospital after their encounter. Even after all our friends my teammates and yours Neji and Kiba even Lee, tried to save Sasuke from himself he continued to walk away. It was his choice; you can't change people's minds or will Sakura." Ino said tenderly trying to comfort her closest friend. When Sakura didn't calm down after her failed attempt, Ino sighed once more and said what Sakura wanted to hear.

"That's just my opinion though; I wasn't the one on his team for an entire year. I don't know his habits that well. If he's the person you think he is then he'll come back. Until then there's nothing wrong with seeing a few people here and there while he's gone." Ino said and turned Sakura around so she could look at the mess she had become.

"Mmm...Sasuke-kun dose care about his friends, he'll come back for sure. He's just using Orochimaru. Once he gets what he wants from the snake freak Sasuke-kun will come back for sure," Sakura said and smiled happily at the thought. Ino put on a fake smile and gently wiped the tears out of Sakura's eyes. '_Uchiha Sasuke, '_Ino thought. '_If you ever come back to this village and break her heart, I will murder you, slowly and painfully.' _

As if the situation could get any worse the sky chose that precise moment to open up and let loose all of its contents, a great clap of thunder shook the earth and the already shaken up girl. Sakura yelped at the random earsplitting noise and nearly fell out of the chair she was sitting in.

"Come on you," Ino said and helped Sakura stand up. She then led her best friend to the couch in the living room and sat her down. Sakura looked up at Ino distantly when the taller girl left Sakura's side to go back into the kitchen and began to rummage around for something.

"...Ino-chan...What're doing?" Sakura asked the sound of her own voice shocking her; the crying she had done had made her throat raw and her voice scratchy.

Ino's blonde head popped up over the counter to reply. "Making some milk cocoa," she then submerged once more to look for a kettle. After making some kind of victory dance after she found the hidden object, Ino stuck true to her words and began to make cocoa for the two of them.

Sakura was about to object when another clap of thunder drowned out any protest she was going to make. Her mind began to drift as thoughts of Sasuke once again took control. Not a day had gone by since he walked out three years ago that she hadn't thought about him, about why he truly left, about what she could have done better to stop him, about their past...Sakura had relived every she had memory about the stoic boy trying to find a reassuring one that would help her know for sure that he'd come back. But none came to mind.

From day one he wanted to do everything alone and only used 'teamwork' when it was convenient for him to do so. Sasuke was always distant from the rest of them and didn't talk much besides insulting Naruto, or telling her to bug off. Even when it came to Kakashi-sensei, he seamed to be snobby towards the jounin not liking it when he lectured him about limits, and self control. Even so Sakura loved him. The few times he would smile at her (very few) or talk to her (about training) something would boil in her gut and a wave of giddiness would wash over her. Butterflies? Screw them! It felt like damned eagles were soaring around in her stomach every time he looked at her. When he wasn't around everything was...Normal. But while by his side a supernatural feeling swept Sakura off her feet, it was like walking on gold paved clouds or some other godly experience.

When he chose revenge, power, and Orochimaru over her, nothing...Absolutely nothing could compare to the throbbing of her heart that night. Not even the pain felt when Zaku wiped the ground of the Forest of Death with her ass could compare to when Sasuke abandoned her.

Tsunade, soon after taking her on as an apprentice diagnosed Sakura with a clinic case of depression and a few of their training sessions were not of fighting nor medical education, but that of talking. Talking about that night, her experiences with him, Tsunade even shared with her how she felt when Orochimaru left. Then again she wasn't as attached to the snake sennin as Sakura was with Sasuke, but it still proved to help her somewhat. And her friends helped her through as well. Before Naruto left to go train with Jiraiya-sama, he and her talked a lot about their lost teammate. Kakashi-sensei didn't have much to say about the matter other then team seven (what was left of it) should still stay strong...They both knew that their sensei was grieving over the Uchiha in his own way. Apparently Sasuke looked very much like one of his teammates when Kakashi was young, so when Sasuke left old memories had resurfaced making the jounin later to training sessions and mission briefings then usual. A few times the copy ninja never came, forcing Sakura and Naruto to abandon the old bridge along with any hope that either sharingan user would show up.

The pink haired girl's tears rivaled with the intensity of the rain outside as both liquids spilt harder and harder as time passed by. Foreign warmth began to spread though out Sakura's body whilst an odd looking object obscured her watery vision. Hazily she realized that Ino was done in the kitchen and had her finished product, a nice warm cup of cocoa and was offering it to Sakura, furthermore the warmth she felt came from a blanket her roommate had scrounged up for her. "Ino-chan" Sakura croaked.

"Drink up dekochin, it'll make you feel better," Ino said kindly. Shakily Sakura took hold of the cup and carefully poured the lukewarm fluid down her raw throat. "Hopefully that's not too hot for ya" she commented remembering the dinner incident earlier that evening. Sakura shook her rosy colored head and stared deeply at her cocoa, a tear or two falling in the process, deluding her chocolate drink.

"...I...You know I didn't mean to upset you when I said those things back there" Ino said cautiously trying to avoid mentioning his name. Again Sakura merely nodded as a response. "But you know...well he...That is..." Ino faltered, she was no longer confident in what she could say to make Sakura fell better. After thinking for a long while Ino said what she thought right to say at the given time. "I hope you know that everything **is **going to be alright, it might hurt now, and it'll probably hurt later, but you'll get over this pain. No you'll never forget about him, or the times spent with him...But eventually like all things this too will subside." Finishing her statement Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura, providing her with even more warmth, giving Sakura a comfort that no words could ever provide.

"Th...Thank you...Ino-chan" Sakura whispered and placed her head on Ino's shoulder, her best friend then rocked her back and forth in a swing rhythmic to the beating rain outside.

'_Scratch that last thought...Uchiha-teme...If you ever show your backstabbing face around here again, I will personally guarantee that you'll never be able to revive your traitorous trash of a clan' _Ino vowed, she would never be able to forgive Sasuke for leaving Konoha. He was going to pay dearly for what he did to Sakura.


	4. Morning Surprises

There was no window in Sakura's new room for any illumination to seep in, so it was mere memory of sunlight which woke her up that morning like a makeshift internal alarm clock. Even in her groggy form Sakura immediately realized that she was not the only occupant of her room...In fact the shinobi was pretty darn sure that this trespasser had the audacity to be lying in her bed. Emerald eyes went from dull and sleepy to aware and alert in no time at all, even her body grew tense in preparation to take out who ever it was in her room. Yet her mind and body relaxed just as quickly as they had tensed when her watchful eyes landed on long blonde hair. Although confusion was the present emotion that now invaded Sakura, she wasn't too weirded out by Ino's presence.

The pale light purple rings under the 'intruder's' eyes was an obvious sign that Ino had been up all night. Guilt washed over her knowing that Ino had most likely stayed up comforting her even placing her in her room so that she wouldn't spend the night out on the couch. Sakura's face underwent a paradoxical expression as it paled and darkened at the same time when her mind **fully** grasped the situation. Not only did her friend place her in her room...But had also so kindly placed Sakura in more sleep like attire. '_How nice of her'_ was Inner Sakura's sardonic thought on the matter, a vein popping on her alter ego's head to further implicate the sarcasm in its statement.

All anger depleted from the schizophrenic the second her friend twitched. '_Ino-chan stayed up with me, made sure that I was ok...I probably fell asleep on her, so she carried me in here, she made certain I was at ease even when I was asleep by changing my clothes'_ Sakura drawled on while watching Ino's even breathing, the air going in and out of her lungs and mouth making cute noises as it did so. She couldn't help but giggle when a small bit of drool formed on the corner of the blonde's mouth. Doing the least she could do to return the favor Sakura moved a misplaced golden strand of Ino's hair behind the chunin's ear so it wouldn't irritate her nose. But the medic's sluggish movement was careless in doing so; the creasing of her fingers on the snoozing girl's face caused her to stir once more.

Pale pupil-less blue eyes reluctantly cracked open to reveal the surrounding area, which consisted of two guilty looking jade pools. "Ohayo" Ino said blinking away her drowsiness as she did so. Her memory wasn't as foggy as her roommate's so Ino wasn't surprised at all when she woke up next to Sakura.

"...O-ohayo Ino-chan" Sakura replied, a blush creeping over her cheeks. She honestly didn't mean to wake Ino up and currently felt incredible awkward now that she was up. "...Ano...Ino-chan" Sakura asked hesitantly after watching the cerulean eyes droop a bit , nearly falling back asleep as she did so.

"...Nani" Ino asked not fully sure as to what Sakura wanted at this ungodly hour of broad daylight.

"Umm...why exactly are you in my room" she deadpanned lightly.

"Simple" Ino stated before yawning "you asked me 'not to leave you alone' "

Sakura wasn't too sure as to what had just transpired, but she felt some...Kind of force slam into her chest at Ino's words. After answering the 'simple' question Ino let sleep claim her exhausted form once more, catching up on the slumber she didn't receive last night. _'...What...What is this feeling'_ Inner Sakura asked. Sakura was on the same wavelength as her inner self for once, she too wondered what was going on inside of her. She tried in vein to question her other side but it too was confused by this.

All Sakura knew for certain was that this sensation wasn't a bad thing...It was endearing in a strange way. She felt the...What ever emotion it was, swell up again when she inched closer to Ino and cuddled the sleeping girl. Almost as if it were an instinctive nature for the other kunoichi to do so, Ino embraced Sakura and nuzzled her strawberry coated head.

...Just naturally Sakura's face lit a flame from the innocent body contact putting Hinata's blushing skills to shame. After several heart pounding moments she clamed down and relaxed, a shade of pink still tinting her cheeks when ever she cracked open an eye to sneak a peak at the blonde. Who was _'so damn adorable'_ from Inner Sakura perspective. After silencing the evading thoughts Sakura found solace in the quietness that was only disturbed ever so lightly by Ino's even snoring.

* * *

Ino awoke that morning in a much different atmosphere then Sakura did. She woke up not because of some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder that forced her to awaken at the same time everyday. It was more like her body telling her 'get out of bed ya lazy bones it's past noon'. Upon waking up she felt abnormally cold for this time of summer, _'Well that's peculiar'_ Ino mused. It wasn't a physical form of cold if that made any sense, though there was a logical reason for that, a purple and red comforter was wrapped securely around her body almost as if she had been tucked in. She peeled the object of unnecessary warmth off of her and removed her presence from the bed. Making a mental note as she did so, _'...Sakura's not here...' _which cleared up any confusion she felt a short while ago. Ino walked out of the room which was visibly not hers due to all the scrolls containing hard to pronounce and even harder to understand medical terms, and trudged forward in her sleepwear. She wasn't too picky as to what she wore at night compared to how precise she wanted her outfits during the day resulting in the stylish girl wearing nothing more then boxers and an oversized T-shirt that once belonged to her teammate Chouji during the hours of the night. 

Once she walked out of Sakura's room, the sunlight that pored through the large window in the living room stuck the very retina of the towheaded girl's azure eyes. Her presence was then noticed by Sakura who could hear Ino's loud cursing from the kitchen. Her friend then stumbled blindly into the kitchen and plopped down on an open seat stating very seriously "We need to get blinds for that sinful and immoral abomination" pointing a shaking finger at the oh-so-evil window. She fished her declaration by dropping her head down on the table with no intention to move it.

"Good morning to you too" Sakura said handing the visually impaired chunin a glass of orange juice.

Ino looked up at Sakura who looked a million times better then she did the pervious night. Then again with all the pretty spotted lights that blurred her vision Ino supposed that just about anything could have looked really good right about now. "Well someone looks awfully cheery this morning" Ino stated after watching Sakura hum a joyful tone while cracking a few eggs into a pan on the stove. Though it might have sounded like a sarcastic comment Ino was truly glad that Sakura was no longer mournful and miserable. '_Girls_ _like my Sakura shouldn't be depressed like that'_

The sound of a train coming to a complete and utter screeching halt blared though Ino's head after that last thought. _'Hold up...When the heck did I start calling dekochin 'my Sakura'_. She observed Sakura carefully trying to find the cause of her unusual thought by watching the energetic girl who seemed practically **gay** as she pranced a round making breakfast.

Another obnoxious sound boomed in Ino's head as she then decided that she was banning herself from ever thinking about Sakura ever again. But alas images of the pink ninja flooded her mind ending with the very vivid image of the climax to their tickle fight the other day.

"Ino-chan, are you alright you look a bit feverish" Sakura commented at the redness that tainted her friends pale face. To make sure the girl wasn't running a fever Sakura placed her hand on the blonde's forehead to cheek her temperature.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" Ino said hastily swatting at Sakura' hand "...How...um how are you doing"

"Good" Sakura replied just as fast as Ino's previous statement. "Honestly, you really helped me out a lot last night" Sakura added to reassure her rival.

"That's good to hear" Ino said placing her head down on the table once more. Sakura giggled at Ino's antics and resumed to make eggs for their brunch. All the while a question loomed in both Sakura's thoughts as they pondered about what Ino was truly to them. Even though they fought over Sasuke when they were young, Sakura couldn't consider Ino a rival any more. They were friends again, quite possible best friends, but why did the title 'best friend' not seem to sum up what the blonde girl meant to her. Most surprising is that unlike Lee or Naruto, Ino was not some wannabe sibling. _'Ino-chan is someone who is truly dear and important to me...One of my special people...But something else'_

"Watch what your doing!" Ino yelled to the mind-walking girl and pushed Sakura out of the way of the flames that came off of the frying pan which once contained eggs and now housed charcoal. "Mou...dekochin don't daydream while your cooking it's a hazardous thing"

"I...I'm sorry" Sakura stuttered casting a guilty gaze towards the ground.

"Don't brood over it so much" Ino said and took over cooking for the two of them. "Just be more careful next time." When an unsettling silence fell over the room Ino looked away from the stove for a brief second to sneak a peek at her roommate. The zoned out and dazed look Sakura had worried Ino deeply. "Oi earth to dekochin, you still in this galaxy"

The sound of Ino calling out to her snapped Sakura out of her inner thoughts, the pink haired chuunin made some sort of 'eeping' noise before looking at Ino's worried yet amused face. "You ok space cadet Haruno" Ino asked playfully.

"Yes Huston" Sakura replied in the same kidding manor. "I was just thinking" Sakura droned pausing only to ponder over her thoughts a little longer wondering if it would be a good idea to voice them or not.

"You think too much, that's why you have an overly large billboard brow for a forehead" Ino commented hastily trying to get Sakura to stop thinking what ever thoughts about Sasuke that she was pondering over. But to both girls surprise the intellectual ninja wasn't thinking about the Uchiha...Well at least not in the way either of them would have expected.

"Ino-chan...When did...when did you stop liking Sasuke-kun" Sakura asked hesitantly in case it was a soft topic for her.

Ino paused to think the question over and then replied in an annoyed tone "Do you mean to ask when did I stop pretending or when did I start to hate him"

"What" Sakura asked utterly confused by her friend's reply. Pretending...Hating...what on earth was she talking about?

"Sakura" Ino said and placed breakfast on the table. "I never really loved Sasuke" she confessed with a sheepish grin. The wave of shock hit Sakura like a chidori to one's chest. Ino never liked Sasuke! What kind of blasphemy was this bimbo blonde spitting out!

"But...But we were rivals fighting over him since childhood until the day he left Konoha. What do you mean you didn't love Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded using her monstrous strength to shake the table when it came in contact with her fist.

Ino gave a sardonic chuckle "Something I never really understood, before we became 'rivals' that is. Is why everyone thought I liked that emo child, yeah sure he is hotter then the sun. But has the personality of a block of ice. If you touch it for too long you get burned and god forbid if you ever lick the thing you'll be standing around in the freezing cold like an idiot for ages. The only reason I clung to Sasuke and pronounced my 'undying love for him' was for you"

"...For...me" Sakura repeated in a confused daze. Nothing that Ino said made any since.

"I've said it to you before Sakura you were too talented to wither away as a bud, which is why I gave you the ribbon and pretended to be a Sasuke obsessed freak" Ino explained in an all knowing voice as if the statement above was obvious.

"...Come again" Sakura asked not getting the general idea.

Ino sighed and rubbed her temples trying to think of a better way to explain her past actions. "Do you remember the exact day we became rivals" she asked letting the question linger in the air before saying "The day at the park we were on a bench underneath that big tree. From the moment we sat down I knew that something in you had changed...But I didn't know what. When you spoke to me about Sasuke, at first you were hesitant but then you became so serious when you declared us rivals for his affections. I knew then what had changed in you; the little crybaby girl I had befriended was gone. I thought that you had bloomed into an independent flower when you said those words so passionately. I didn't want to break that strong resolve you had, so I never told you or anyone that up until that moment that there was a rumor going around that I liked Sasuke"

"A...rumor" Sakura reiterated trying to grasp all this new information. It was kinda confusing when you figure out that what you thought you knew wasn't really true. So Sakura's bewilderment was quiet normal, in fact it'd be pretty weird if she wasn't puzzled by the hidden truth. "Then...Why'd you start chasing after Sasuke-kun if it was only a rumor"

Ino chuckled again but in a much lighter tone this time. "You don't listen very well do you? I told you I 'pined' over Sasuke for your own good"

"...Come again" Sakura asked once more.

"Ugh, you really are just as dense as your forehead" Ino stated placing her face into her hands.

"Well explain it more clearly then, I can't help it if you have the brains of a pig" Sakura retorted her confusion finally turning into a frustrated anger.

"Alright clean out your ears cause I'm only trying this one more time" Ino sighed just as frustrated as Sakura. '_Damn you Uchiha, even when your not here you still find some way to annoy me' _ "I chased after Sasuke to keep your resolve up. You seemed meek again after we became rivals you would watch Sasuke from a far never actually going up to talk to him. I didn't like seeing you wither away again so I would flirt with him blatantly...But only when you were around to see us"

At this point Sakura butted in to ask "Why"

"To make jealously rear its ugly head of course; I knew I flirted enough it would irk you to no end. It would force you to step up to the plate. After all you wouldn't want to lose to your rival now would you? And it worked as long as I played the role of a threat to your relationship with Sasuke you had the confidence to claim him as your own and fought for him. You would only wilt away if you liked him from the shadows, so I tired to bring you out into the light to bloom" Ino replied.

"So all those years you were just looking out for me even when I yelled all those horrible things at you, and hated you...You were trying to help me" Sakura asked after catching the drift of Ino's tale.

Ino pondered over it for a while and said "For the most part yeah...I mean there were a few times where I got caught up in my acting and said some pretty mean things too. And I suppose every now and then I would daydream about Sasuke and me...But it wasn't really Sasuke and me if that makes any sense"

"It doesn't" Sakura deadpanned

"See I took Sasuke's body and fused it with the personality of the person who I really had a crush on. Like I said earlier I'm not blind the guy is hot and sexy, but he wasn't...Warm like this other person"

"Oh" Sakura said in an amused tone "And who is this other person" she asked leaning forward ever so slightly, actually interested in what Ino was saying.

Ino picked idly at her breakfast which had long lost its warmth and was very much cold and soggy; a cherry tinge flowed across her face as she did so. "N...N-no one special...just a really nice and caring guy that's all" her voice gaining a higher pitch the longer she spoke.

"Uh huh" Sakura said not at all believing that this 'warm person' was just a fling. "Sooo...Where'd you meat him"

Ino tired to hold out as long as she could but could feel her control over the conversation slipping, and tipping the odds to Sakura's favor. "He...He was in our class too"

"Really now" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow, trying to picture every male in their grade. Inching forward again she coyly asked "is he a member of rookie nine"

"Who knows" the pink faced girl replied turning her rosy colored cheeks away from alluring green eyes.

"Ino-chan" her interrogator said in a stern almost accusing tone.

"Yes alright yes he's a member of rookie nine" Ino revealed, absolutely humiliated by this point. "Now can we eat breakfast in peace?" She dung into the aged food too embarrassed to notice the flavor was totally bland due to the time that had passed since it had been fresh.

"Is he a good ninja" Sakura continued determined to make her friend to crack. The only guys in their class left were Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Omitting of course Sasuke who she had already denied having feelings for.

"Why dose it matter" Ino asked a sour taste forming in her mouth when she spoke. Whither by the topic or her food was unknown.

"Okay then. Was he one of the five...well six if you count Lee-san, that went after Sasuke-kun" .All redness vanished from Ino's face and a dark presence took it's place, it also took control over the kitchen area making Sakura think she had crossed the line with her questions. But she had to know. Who was it that Ino liked, and why were they more special then Sasuke-kun? What made this person more desirable then the Uchiha prodigy? "Ne Ino-chan did they go after Sasu-"

"Yeah they left to go retrieve that ungrateful punk...and he almost died while doing so!" she spat. The medic nin jumped at the now harsh voice Ino used. _'Note to inner self'_ Sakura thought while Inner Sakura sat down at a typewriter writing down the important note _'Never bring up the retrieval mission of Sasuke-kun around Ino, for it is a very touchy subject'_ Inner Sakura finished her typing just as the typewriter made a dinging noise _'okay'_ she agreed giving the real Sakura a thumbs up.

The thoughts of Lee, Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Chouji, and Shikamaru in the hospital after the mission failed was present in both chuunin's minds while there conversation ended for the time being. Sakura could now rule out Neji and Lee as being Ino's mysterious crush for they were a year a head of them leaving only Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto left.

"They must have been very brave though to fight those sound ninja's" Sakura mused.

"Yeah" Ino agreed a grin plastered across her face at the thought. "Not many people would call him that cause of his attitude and general attributes...Then again a lot of people have underestimated his power...Even me" Ino spoke getting a sappy yet sad look on her face.

"Underestimated" Sakura asked that fact didn't help much seeing as any of those four boys could have easily been underestimated; however only one of them stuck out to Sakura.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the number of people who label you as a loser just because your grades were low as an academy student. I mean come on that was a while ago even then, besides grades aren't really all that important" Ino ranted.

"A loser with low grades huh" Sakura questioned smugly. Ino opened her mouth to continue but Sakura's overly smug look caught her attention.

"What are you thinking about over there" Ino asked while raising one light-colored eye brown not liking at all the look her best friend was giving her.

"Oh nothing, just I think I know who your secret crush is" She said slyly earning a very fearful look from Ino.

"Why say it like that, it's not as if I still like em' now or anything" Ino replied in an annoyed tone. It was Sakura's turn to raise a brow at the statement, not at all convinced that Ino no longer held feelings for him.

"Right...So you don't like Naruto at all" Sakura asked very much sure that he was the brave underestimated idiot that Ino liked.

"Of course I don't like Nar...u...to" Ino started out very much flustered but ended out ending her sentence with a quiet black and confused expression. "How the heck did you get that hyperactive fool out of this conversation?"

"So it's not Naruto" Sakura asked and tilted her head to the side. _'Well that's one down only three more to go' _Inner Sakura mused checking their former teammate off the list of four.

"Of course it's not that fashion designed reject. What kinda of man let alone a ninja runs around it bright orange! I'm surprised the enemy don't see or hear that loudmouth coming miles before he actually gets there" Ino stated.

'_She has a point'_ Sakura's Inner self agreed. Uzumaki Naruto was a guy that took a long time to tolerate let alone understand. Given that Ino hadn't spent too much time with the other blonde it was understandable that she didn't like him. "Okay then...Shikamaru. He's on your team so you'd had to have developed some kind of strong feelings for him over time.

"Yeah" Ino huffed. "The strong feeling of annoyance, you talk about Kakashi-sensei being lazy. Shikamaru has no motivation what so ever, hell if it weren't to 'troublesome' he'd just go and get himself killed on a mission" Ino said matter-o-factly.

"Alrightly, so if it's not Naruto-kun or Shikamaru-san...Ki-"

"Before you even think about dog breath it wasn't him either" Ino scoffed at the mere idea of the Inuzuka child and herself. This tid bit of information confuddled the heck out of Sakura who thought she was out of options.

"...But at thought you said he was in our grade" she asked having forgotten fourth candidate

"HE IS!" Ino shouted. After giving Sakura the fright of her life Ino clamed her famous anger down before admitting "It was Chouji alright" Her face was completely red when she turned away from Sakura once more, not wanting to look at the expression on her face. True it was a long while since she had thought about her teammate in such a manor, but no one truly forgets their first real crush. Remembering those long forgotten feelings for the Akimichi boy made the blush on Ino's face even redder.

Confused the pink haired girl blinked her eyes and said the ninja's name once more "Chouji" after opening and closing her eyes for good measures Sakura and Inner Sakura burst out into a crazed laughter at the thought of the beautiful and thin Yamanaka Ino and the unattractive and fat Akimichi Chouji as a loving couple. The insane duo were silenced rather quickly when they realized that Ino wasn't kidding, and that the blue eyed blonde was glaring quite intensely at the pair.

"Err...Sorry. But Chouji was the brave and underestimated ninja with low scores that nearly got killed when trying to bring Sasuke-kun back home" Sakura asked not at all believing this to be true.

Her question didn't lighten the mood or Ino's glare at all. In fact Sakura felt a slight killing intent directed at her...this wasn't going to end well.

"Yeah that's right, Chouji busted his arse to bring your oh so loving and dear Sasuke-_kun_ back to Konoha! He. Chouji is the sweetest guy around and almost died on that mission! He's such a gentle guy that you wouldn't think him capable of beating one of those cursed sealed monsters but he did. He kept on pushing forward not thinking about himself but his friends and how much they depended on his victory" Ino's thunderous and loathing voice became soft and caring so quickly that Sakura wondered if she too suffered from some sort of split personality disorder.

"...He didn't even think of himself when he took that red pill. Oh he knew that'd he probably die, but he didn't care as long as he stopped that sound bastard from getting to the others. Chouji...Yeah he's chubby but dose it really matter, you need a lot of body to hold that big heart of his" Ino looked oddly unhappy after she described the man of her dreams leaving Sakura quiet worried on her behalf.

"I'm sorry for ever thinking less of him" she apologized. It was very unprofessional of her to do such a thing. Chouji had been mortally wounded and could have died very easily after such a battle. It took the best medical ninja of all history to revive the genin and it was a long while before he was in a stable condition. Sakura cursed her self mentally while Inner Sakura hit her head repeatedly against a wall. How could she have forgotten that Ino had waited 8 long hours to even look at her teammate after the mission was over. He was in such a critical condition that not even family members could visit him. Sitting their wondering if he was going to live or die had to have been painful, utterly nerve racking. And here she just insulted him in thinking that Chouji wasn't worth liking

'_We are so stupid'_ Inner Sakura stated somehow escaping the mind of Sakura to sit on the kunoichi's shoulder and pat her head sympathetically.

"You should be" Ino hissed.

'_Yep we are total idiots'_ the chibi version of Sakura mused while taking a large swig of a sake bottle that just happen to be laying around. After debating the idea around with her drunken inner mind Sakura asked one more question that could possible anger the already seething girl even more. 'E_h go for it either she'll kill you by hand, or slaughter you with the murderous intent pouring out of her eyes ...Either way we're screwed'_ was Inner Sakura's intoxicated thought on the matter.

"Then...If you liked him so much then why'd you say you 'used' to like him. Don't you, still harbor strong feelings for him" Sakura asked bracing herself after each word she spoke for the throttling of her life.

No noise could be herd in the apartment which scared the crap out of Sakura, she became even more frightened when with out any words said Ino stood up. The blonde took her plate and emptied into the trash and said in an emotionless tone "Cause girls like me could only dream about being with a sensitive guy like that...Chouji's way out of my league. Besides even if I did try to win him over someone's already beaten me to his heart. I couldn't try to take him away from them so I just gave up"

That voice...Sakura had never heard her friend ever carry such a depressing tone. If it weren't for the fact that she saw the empty words fall from the chuunin's mouth she would have never recognized it. _'Well look on the bright side _**hiccup**_ at least we ain't dead yet'. _No but Ino certainly looked dead. Sluggishly Sakura became aware that her legs were carrying her towards the waste bin and the girl who stood next to it. She wrapped her arms around Ino, very much like the way her friend did for her the previous night. Hugging her securely as apposed to a tight hug, saying words that help shake Ino out of her shell of a state.

"Hey, I truly never meant to overlook such a great guy. Leave it to you to find a diamond in the rough. Who cares if you can't have his love as long as you still have his friendship, which probably means a lot to both of you. It's all okay in the end isn't it?"

Blue eyes faded from pale to bight as if being awoken from some sort of trance. "Yeah, you're right" Ino said confident in Sakura's words. She hugged the smaller girl back thankful that she had such a wise friend. "Besides who needs a stupid guy in their life, they always end up being wooed away by someone else or run off chasing some unrealistic dream. It's their loss anyway for not having us in their life, and we don't need em' in ours right"

Sakura giggled at the renewed Ino "Right"

"Heh thanks dekochin, I can always count on you to be there for me" Ino grinned, still keeping a tight hold on the girl.

"That's what friends are for buta. Besides I should thank you for helping me out last night" Sakura said squeezing the blonde even harder.

"Well what else are best friends for" Ino asked lighting the grip around Sakura's waist hoping that the pink haired girl would do the same to her ribcage.

Sakura did indeed loosen her tight hold on Ino's ribs and asked in a soft voice "Best friends huh" Ino nodded and placed her chin on top of Sakura's soft head. Sakura felt that strange emotion from earlier that morning consume her organs once more. "Ne...Ino-chan have you...Have you ever thought that maybe...Maybe were more then just 'best friends' "

Ino removed her head from Sakura's and looked at the small girl and asked "What do you mean" although her voice wasn't as shaky as Sakura's, Ino was just as nervous. She had thought about it...But wasn't sure if **that** was what Sakura was referring to.

"What I mean is...Do you ever fell that...Were more the friends or even best friends" Sakura blushed profusely after saying what she said, realizing what it sounded like she was asking. Ino blushed just as hard, they were still embracing one another and she could almost feel Sakura's soft breath when she whispered her question, due to the fact that their faces weren't very far from each other.

"...Y-yeah I think I know what you're asking" Ino replied losing any clam composure she had. "I've...Thought about it"

"Really" Sakura asked her red face brightening at her friend's statement.

"Yeah" Ino said softly she leaned forward touching her nose to Sakura's and the two girls giggled. They knew now, with out a doubt that yeah they were friends. Best friends as some people would label the pair. But deep down inside each harbored a feeling for each other that ran deeper then any friend ship could, that feeling...was love...true untainted pure love for each other. And the duo knew what that kind of love felt like the second their lips touched sending shockwaves through each of their bodies.

Butterflies and eagles were words that Sakura used to describe the feeling in her gut when she was around Lee and Sasuke. But when she leaned forward into Ino's caring arms and deepened the kiss. It felt like her own stomach had grown winds and was flying about spreading the joyous feeling of gaiety and warmth to every corner of her body.

'_Was I cold before'_ Ino asked herself, because right now she felt so warm and tingly on the inside that she had to have been cold before so that such an immense wave of heat to affect her like it was.

The pair pulled away from each other rather reluctantly, but alas they both needed air so the quick parting was necessary. Sakura was the first to open her eyes and couldn't hold back a giggle when she saw the priceless look of bliss on Ino's face.

"Ino-chan" Sakura asked and placed her head on the taller girls shoulder.

"Mmmm" Ino was far to relaxed to fully respond, that and she doubted that she speak coherent sentences at the present time.

"I love you" Sakura said with out any hesitation.

"Yeah...I love you too" Ino replied. She couldn't help but notice her strong feeling for the other kunoichi.

"Really" Sakura asked moving her head off of Ino's shoulder and looked her eyes. Ninja's are trained to spot deception a mile away, and a persons eye's are like windows to their soul. If Ino lied to her Sakura would know in a heart beat.

"Really really" Ino replied and placed a quick kiss on Sakura's lips to seal her statement.

She passed; there was nothing dishonest about the look in Ino's navy windows. Sakura beamed she was loved, truly loved, by one of her important friends. _'Ino-chan isn't one of your important friends any more pinky' _Inner Sakura said _'Ino-koi is your girlfriend now' _

Sakura liked the sound of that...she also liked kissing her newfound lover. Sakura inched forward towards Ino's face, and Ino did the same as well. Both of them closed their eyes feeling as if they didn't need vision to guide them for their lips knew where they were going.

"SAKURA-SAN" was the sound that stopped the loving couple from snogging...that and the very familiar sound of their door being forced off of their hinges and collapsing on the ground. It took Ino all of three seconds to connect the two deafening sounds to a singular source.

"Lee-kun" she groaned. After heaving a great sigh she gave Sakura a sorrow look. '_Kami-sama Lee. Could you have picked a worse time to come busting our door down'_ Ino thought

'_Death...kill...must kill...death to bushy eye brows' _Inner Sakura said practically forming at the mouth with anger. Sakura merely nodded towards Ino who then went to investigate one the problem at hand.

"Ah Yamanaka-san sorry about the door, I spouse I have once again over looked my strength and have caused it to collapse one more" the ever so youthful Lee spoke.

"Mou Lee-kun can't you be a bit more aware of your surroundings" Ino asked placing her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "That's the fifth time you've broken it since we've moved in"

"I am sincerely sorry for my destructive actions. As punishment I shall complete 300,000 push-ups before my next visit" he vowed with the flame of passion burning in his eyes. Lee finished his energy filled statement with his trademark nice guy pose and for the second time that morning Ino went blind due to the light that reflected off of Lee's pearly whites.

"Lee-san I think we would appreciate it more if you just stopped breaking the door" Sakura stated when she walked out of the kitchen.

"Ah Sakura-san your angelic face once again fuels the passion in my heart" Lee cried.

Ino and Sakura gave each other a rather sheepish look. How exactly were they going to break this too Lee?

"Umm...Lee-kun" Ino began. But the passion fueled shinobi didn't hear her.

"While on a mission in the Grass Country I spotted a very rare sight indeed. An object that came so very close to matching your beauty, even though nothing on this planet can compete with you in such a field I felt compelled to bring it back here as a gift for you. Please accept it as a token of my affections for you Sakura-san" Lee exclaimed and presented Sakura with the most exotic bouquet of poison ivy she had ever seen.

"Umm...Lee-san there lovely" Sakura said and noticed that Lee's fingers that had been left un-bandaged had a reddish tint to them. If she didn't accept the flowers from him she would probably hurt his feelings. _'Then again if we do accept them will get stupid poison ivy all over our hands...I dono about you missy but I have plans for these fingers later tonight' _

Ino saw Sakura's distressed look and took matters into her own hand. "Look at the time! Sakura you'll be late to work at this rate" Ino said and winked at Sakura.

"Your right Ino, gosh where did all that time go? Lee-san I'm sorry I have to run. Thanks so much for the flowers. I'm sorry I can't treat your hands right now but I'm sure Ino with her extensive knowledge on plants can find something to get rid of that poison ivy. Right Ino" Sakura asked and mouthed the words 'thank you' to Ino

"That's right, better hurry now or Tsunade-sama will chew off your head again" Ino said. 'No problem' she mouthed back.

"Poison ivy" Lee repeated and upon saying those words realized that his hands felt as if they were on fire.

"Yeah, Lee as lovely as those flowers are they're a form of Poison ivy. I have some ointment in my room that should clean that right up" While Ino kept Lee busy with talks of various toxins and herbs, Sakura made her sneaky retreat from the apartment. She caught Ino's eye before she stepped over their door and blew her partner a kiss. Her lover caught it and held her fist close to her heart.

"That's very interesting Yamanaka-san" Lee proclaimed "So what you mean to say is that like roses a lot of flowers have thorns just not all of them are as visible as others" Lee asked.

The sound of Lee's voice broke Ino from her trance. "Err...Right Lee, in this case the flowers you brought back are indeed breathtakingly gorgeous but they too have 'thorns'; the poison ivy" She recovered quickly.

"So I see. Thank you for the ointment Yamanaka-san" Lee said

"No problem Lee-kun" Ino replied.

"Well then I suppose I shall be off" Lee said before he left however, the tai-jutsu genius fixed the door so that it was once more useable.

"Ah leave the door open Lee-kun" Ino said quickly. If Sakura wasn't here there really was no point in Ino staying in the apartment by herself.

"Are you leaving as well" he asked kindly.

"Yeah, I figured since I don't have any missions coming in for a little while I should probably train for a bit" Ino wished she could have shoved those taboo words back into her mouth. She had mentioned the worst possible thing to say around Rock Lee. Training. The fire that blazed in Lee's eyes made every muscle in her body ache.

"Yamanaka-san if you wish I can aid you in your training" Lee said in such a way that Ino knew there was no backing out of. '_Dear lord what did I ever do to deserve this kind of cruel and unusual punishment' _

She was then dragged away by Lee who was positively beaming at the thought of a new sparing partner.

'_It is going to be long...and very painful day'_ Ino mused.

* * *

A/N: Yay I finally made them admit their love for each other! W00T! I actually thought that I was never going to be able to finish this chapter. It's longer then any other I've done by far. I hope you guys like it. So please review and tell me what you think. 


	5. Springtime of Youth!

Ch 5

'_Well that was certainly weird'_ Tsunade though to herself as she glanced at her newest pupil from the corner of her amber colored eyes. Then again a lot of unusual things had been happing around Haruno Sakura as of late. One of the first abnormal things the Godaime noticed was that her apprentice had arrived to work rather early this morning...Two and a half hours early to be precise. Although Tsunade herself did take some pride in her job as chief medical ninja because her job required help people out, she didn't adore it so much as to come in to work early or at least not as early as Sakura did. The other thing that stuck the Hokage as odd was that for someone who was so eager to come into work, Sakura seemed rather distant. Her mind was obviously else where while she half heartedly carried out her tasks. Lastly the most recent peculiar thing Tsunade noticed was the random sighs Sakura would let out. They didn't sound annoyed or bored; rather they had a more dejected sound to them which worried the Godaime greatly

"Sakura" Tsunade called out apprehensively determined to figure out if her student was alright or not.

"Hai Hokage-sama" Sakura replied and turned around to look the Hokage in the eye. The second green eyes met brown ones Tsunade knew that there was with out a doubt something was definitely out of place, and that it was probably not an illness that was making Sakura act so strange. When Uchiha Sasuke walked out of Konoha breaking the young girls' heart by ignoring her pleas, the light in Sakura's eyes had left along with the traitor genin. But for reasons unknown to Tsunade, the light was there in her eyes once more. There was only one logical reason for Sakura's actions now. _'She's in love'_ Tsunade concluded before mentally slapping herself in the head.

Of course she was in love! Why else would she sigh like she did that and zone out frequently, and sigh like a love sick fool. Of course this didn't explain her unusual early arrival however it could prove to be relevant to the mater as well. "Uh...it's nothing, just make sure you finish your rounds and then report back to Shizune" Tsunade replied and walked away. Sure she could question the young girl to 'spill the beans' and tell her all about this new crush; however in the immortal words of Naru Shikamaru it would be 'too troublesome' to do so.

"Yes, ma'am" Sakura chimed and tried to resume her duties with a smile on her face. While the two high ranking females went on with their respective duties with smiles, one kunoichi in a not too far off training ground was not happy, in fact one could bold as to say that she was down right pissed.

"Yamanaka-san that last bout was truly amazing, worthy of the power of your youthfu-"

"Lee! If you use the word 'youthful' one more time I swear my Shinranshin won't miss next time" Ino vowed slowly picking her bruised body off of the ground which was damped by her perspiration and blood.

Lee on the other hand stood a few yards away from the weakened blonde with no scratch to be seen on him, which angered her even more. His strength was admirable Ino noted and spat out what looked to be one of her molars and rubbed her jaw tentatively, but she wasn't going to give in that easily.

"Please back up your promise of a life time with force Yamanaka-san. I do not wish to see such a passionate declaration used so lightly." Lee said in his awkward way of speaking.

"Heh...You asked for it" Ino stated before moving at a speed that no genin would be able to trace, but for such a speed demon like Rock Lee her movements were obvious...or so he thought.

"Konoha senpuu" the green beast yelled and used his most famed combo on Ino or what was thought to be the chunin kunoichi, Lee's kick came in contact with a log that had been disguised by a gen-jutsu to look like his opponent.

'_I got you now'_ Ino thought when she came up behind the jade clad ninja. Her fist that was heading towards the back of Lee's head missed its target completely, in fact the tai-jutsu master himself was no where to be seen. "Eh" was Ino's blank comment on her new situation, forgetting for the slightest of seconds that Rock Lee was one of the fastest people in all the ninja nations. That brief moment when Ino's defense dropped was all the swift shinobi needed to land his next attack on the unaware girl; who was slightly confused by the now familiar taste of dirt in her mouth. "Mou Lee-kun you're way to fast for me" she groaned and once again lifted herself off of the ground.

"Shall a take that as your admit to defeat" Lee asked raising one of his outrageously thick eyebrows, which made Ino shudder when she saw it move.

The flames of passion flamed in Ino's eyes as she smirked and replied "Never" and ran at Lee once more.

"Yosh! If Yamanaka-san can't land a hit on me then I shall assist her in training until she is able to become a formidable sparing partner" Lee screamed towards the heavens, before taking his nice guy pose. "It's a promise of a life time" he said in a slightly less loud tone and took his usual fight stance.

"I suppose we won't be able to fight like this more often then, cause my next attack is going to hit for sure" Ino swore. When Lee charged at her, Ino was able to doge the frontal attack with out having to use a kawarimi no jutsu. Mustering up all the speed her hands could handle Ino formed the hand seal for the Shinranshin in no time at all. After shouting at the name of her attack her, Ino let out a portion of her mind energy towards Lee. Lee who was already winding up for his next attack, sensed the danger of the on coming jutsu and diligently moved out of it's path way before throwing a punch towards his opponent's stomach.

All air depleted from the blonde kunoichi's lungs before the blow even hit her. However once Lee's fist came in contact her gut, Ino's eyes grew dim and the world as she knew it began to darken as she flew back several meters. Noticing that his opponent was no longer conscious the green beast ran and caught Ino before her prone body was to hit a large bolder in the middle of the field.

"Oh my...This is not good I have once again underestimated the strength of my springtime of youth. Forgive me Yamanaka-san next time we battle I shall try to limit the passionate flames of the beast within me" Lee said remorsefully as if his statement was meant to be some obtuse form of an apology. He then placed Ino on his back and carried her back to civilization. Lee was about to take Ino back to her apartment when he was stricken by a much more brilliant idea. Ino had been pretty injured during their training session correct...injured people go to the hospital do they not? The hospital is where god's gift to Konoha works right?

"Yosh! To Sakura-san it is, for she will be able to cure Yamanaka-san's wounds with her incredible healing abilities." Lee proclaimed before speeding off towards Konoha's only medical facility where the object of both his and Ino's affections was working.

"Ah chu" Sakura sneezed shortly after Lee's loud outburst.

"Bless you Haruno-san" a ninja on the medical staff commented.

"Thanks" Sakura replied before returning to her duties. The young chunin was about to check up on a near by patient when she was stopped by the sound of yet another door being broken. '_That boy seriously needs to layoff of the steroids' _Inner Sakura remarked. Sakura ignored her inner self's statement and went to go investigate on why Lee was in the hospital, seeing as he was healthy enough to break down a metal frame door.

"Ah Sakura-san just the person I was seeking out" Lee yelled down the hallway once he spotted the pink haired girl.

"Lee-san this is a _hospital_ you're going to need to lower your voice" Sakura stated, her face flushed when the spectators in that hallway began to stare at her and Lee. "What is it that you needed?" she asked trying to hurry their rendezvous along so that she could withdraw herself from the looks she was receiving.

"Ah well you see Sakura-san" Lee started in a not so quiet whisper "Yamanaka-san and I were testing the boundaries of our youthful spirits and the mighty power of our resolves in a competitive spar. While in the mist of our heated duel the flames of my inner beast rose up inside of me and released itself on to Yamanaka-san rendering her unconscious. Although I do not believe her injuries are so severe that they are able to endanger her life, I myself am not a medical expert and thought it best to seek out a specialist such as yourself to inspect her wounds" Lee explained. By this time in the conversation Sakura had noticed that Ino was resting peacefully on Lee's back and nearly leapt out of her skin at the sight.

Her trained eyes scanned over Ino's sleeping form taking in every detail and noting every scratch and bruise that marred the blonde's body. No more then 15 seconds later Sakura let out a breath that had been caught in her chest. "She does look pretty busted up...but she's at least breathing, so that's a good sign. Set her down in the room to your right if you would Lee-san. It'll be easier to treat her in there" Sakura said and pointed to a vacant room to her right.

Lee nodded vigorously and gladly followed Sakura's instructions. He proceeded to carry Ino into the room to his right; it was a standard hospital room that hit Lee with a sort of nostalgic feeling. After his first encounter with Sabaku no Gaara, Lee was forced to stay in a room such as this one, with nothing more then the bed on which he laid paralyzed and the window to the left of that confining bed to keep the humiliated and broken Rock Lee occupied. However during those depressing times where Lee was stripped of everything, his pride, his movement, even his well known youthful energy seemed to have faded while imprisoned in the dismal hospital; there was a light that warded off the darkness that slowly began to delude the mind of Konoha's green beast.

An admirable being that waits for spring as it stands valiantly against the winter cold. A single entity that is able to hold a person's dreams and wishes; daffodils that Lee received from an angel, a tender person who was kind enough to go out of their way to bring fresh flowers every week and keep him company in his time of need. Although Lee was sure that there was no way he could express his gratitude to Sakura for helping nurture him back to health, he tried hard everyday to show her in the little tasks he could do to make her life easier. To show her how much he appreciated what she did for him, to demonstrate how much he would do for her. If Sakura asked for it Lee would give her everything.

Not anything, for it was too vague for his liking; Sakura didn't deserve just anything, she deserved everything. If it was possible Lee would give her the world because she was worth that much to him. And right now the disheartened shinobi could only think of how she needed not the situation he had made happen.

Lee could only gaze at his angel as the pink haired goddess tended to another's wounds like she had once done to him. Wounds that he caused; there was not reason for him to go all out in just a friendly sparing match. Even though Gai-sensei lectured passionately on how one should never hold back their true powers, that they should always give it their all when running that last stretch to reach that glistening sunset in the distance. Gai also taught never to kick an opponent when they are down. Although Ino was injured she was not down for the count nor would she have been easily persuaded to throw in the towel. Yet in still Lee felt ashamed of himself, there was no need for him to finish it in the manner that he did. He had failed his angel by causing her to worry and hover over someone who was very important to her.

However it was not like Lee to ponder so deeply about darker feelings such as the ones that were overwhelming his system. Yet another wondrous and amazing thought stuck him and his spirits were lifted from the gloomy shadows by the glowing rays of the moon. "Sakura-san" Lee shouted suddenly, causing the preoccupied girl to jump at the load clamor. "Please excuse me for but a moment, there are...uh...other things at this current time that I need to attend to. Please await my return for I will be back in a jiffy." With out waiting to hear her reply, Lee ran out the hospital, leaving a very confused Sakura in his wake.

Sakura didn't wonder too much about Lee's sudden departure and returned her focus once more on the task at hand. From what Sakura could tell with her experience as a medical ninja Ino was far from death's grip and her injuries weren't serious at all. But that didn't stop her from worrying. Every punch and or kick Lee managed to land on Ino left a very dark and painful looking bruise, and seeing how the two of them had been sparing in the woods Ino suffered many minor scrapes and cuts due to the rocks and sticks that broke her fall every time she fell.

All in all she looked like hell, but the looks were very deceiving. The cuts were shallow and Sakura had known Ino long enough to know that her fair skin bruised easily. It only took a few low level healing jutsus to make the blonde girl look healthy again, but Sakura still didn't leave her bed side even though she had other patients that needed tending to. Once more she was captivated by the cuteness of Ino's sleeping face and was unable to stifle a giggle that emerged when the sleeping girl let out a very undignified snort and mumbled something incoherently. Sakura smiled knowing that Ino was resting peacefully and would be fine if she left her side for a couple of moments.

"Sleep well Ino" Sakura whispered to her sleeping lover before planting a kiss on her forehead and exiting the room...or at least she would have left the room had a very amused looking Godaime not blocked her only exit. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama" Sakura stuttered nervously.

Tsunade looked at her flustered pupil and the sleeping shinobi behind her before letting out an all knowing "Ohhh" and grinned at Sakura who quickly decided that she did not like that smirk on the Godaime's face. "Might I inquire as to how Yamanaka-chan got injured?"

Sakura gulped and silently wondered how long had superior been standing their. "She was training with Lee-san" She stated truthfully which earned a bout of chuckles out of the Hokage.

'_Well that explains that'_ Tsunade thought to herself. The reason why Tsunade came in to inspect this empty room was because she saw Rock Lee flee from it like a madman. And if it was Lee who hurt Ino, the girl Tsunade knew to be Sakura's roommate, her student must have chewed him out for injuring someone so close and important to her. If Tsunade was also to add Sakura's odd behavior from earlier in the day and the affection she saw while Sakura cared for Ino to the mix... "So Sakura how long have you and Yamanaka-chan been together" Tsunade asked

'_Breath...breath...that's not breathing'_ Inner Sakura commented seeing as her outer self had literally stopped all inhaling and exhaling at Tsunade's question. Completely red faced Sakura attempted to answer the question. "W-we've been roommates for tw-three months now...I think" Sakura answered in a squeaky high pitched voice.

"Only three months" Tsunade asked her face was completely fake as it feigned a surprised expression.

Having been under the Godaime's wing for so long Sakura knew that expression all to well. Tsunade was a teaser by nature and loved more then anything else in this world (save for sake of course) to make people squirm. Too many times had Sakura been the victim of Tsunade's weird taste in humor, and now it seemed like she was about to get another painful dose of it. Sakura and her inner self braced themselves for the worst, for the amused comments and embarrassing questions that were soon to come.

"Y-yes Tsunade-sama only three months" Sakura answered looking as if she had just signed her own death wish.

Tsunade let out another "Ohhh" before making another comment. "You two seem awfully close for people who have only known each other for three months" she stated knowing for a fact that the Sakura and Ino had known each other long before moving in with each other.

Had not very tired sounding groan caressed Sakura's ear she would have died from embarrassment in trying to answer her superior's question. The young medical ninja turned her strawberry head just in time to see Ino come to. "Ugh...Where...where am I" Ino asked aloud. The last thing she remembered was fighting Lee in the forest and she could only assume she must have fallen asleep or something because after that everything was blank.

Completely forgetting that the leader of Konoha, a member of the densetsu no sannin, the best medical ninja in history, her boss, the one and only Tsunade-sama was in the room Sakura rushed to Ino's side and replied "You're in the hospital, Lee-san brought you here. How are you feeling" Sakura asked in a tone so filled with concern and worry that forced Tsunade to smile at the pair, knowing that right now she invisible to the two of them who were only focused on each other.

'_Besides the fact that I feel like I just got run over by Choji's meet tank jutsu I feel just peachy'_ Ino thought to herself but kept that comment to inside knowing that if she said it, it would only make Sakura worry more. Ino grinned at Sakura and replied "With a cute nurse like you taking care of me, how could I not feel fine" Ino gave Sakura a wink and an ever wider grin to reassure her overprotective friend that she was fine.

Sakura lived true to her name as her cheeks became the color of a sakura blossom at Ino's antics. "Don't tease like that" Sakura muttered and then went to say "Are you sure you feel ok"

Ino smiled before cupping her girlfriend's face in her left hand. "I am 100 sure" she answered and then stoked Sakura's cheek with her thumb, trying to calm the other girl's nerves.

Sakura let out a sigh that Tsunade noticed wasn't like the one's the medical ninja released earlier. "I'm glad" Sakura said truthfully before adding "And that is the last time you go training with Lee-san! Honestly what on earth were you thinking" she demanded to know, her calm expression was soon replaced by one filled with furry; however a slight touch of concern still remained.

Ino visible flinched at the tone Sakura used to scold her with. "I-It couldn't be helped, I accidentally let it slip that I was possible going to go train latter in the day; and Lee-san was so enthusiastic on us training together that I didn't get a chance to say no" Ino protested in her defense.

But the blonde's excuse wasn't enough to cool Sakura off. "Ugh, what am I to do with you, you really could have gotten seriously wounded. Lee-san isn't a pushover" Sakura said raising her voice and her chakra output to make sure Ino understood the gravity of this situation. "Promise me you won't do something stupid like that anytime soon"

Ino nodded rapidly "Trust me I have no desire to go though that again any time soon" Although the wounded girl was sure she would rather train with Lee every day of the week if it meant she'd never have to witness this scary Sakura before her.

"Good" Sakura replied in a voice so sweet it sounded unrealistic. It was Ino's turn to let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she was no longer in any danger. But little did Yamanaka Ino know that danger was lurking in the back of the room.

"My, my Sakura; you should know by now that threatening patient's isn't good for business" Tsunade mused with the biggest Chester cat grin plastered on her face.

Both Ino and Sakura jumped out of their skin at the sound of the Godaime's amused voice, and slowly turned their heads so that they could face the Hokage with looks of pure horror glued to their faces.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama"

"H-Hokage-sama" the two girls stuttered simultaneously, their panicked tones only adding fuel to Tsunade's burning fire of enjoyment and pleasure.

"Should I warn Lee the next time he's in here that this hospital is no longer safe for his health while your on duty, Sakura" Tsunade asked her playful tone not lightening up as she spoke, sending more dread into the two chunin before her.

'_You idiot, you complete baka! Well don't just stand there with your mouth open, say something!'_ Inner Sakura ranted. Yet with all the yelling going on in her head Sakura found herself completely and utterly speechless.

"I...I really don't think t-that's necessary Hokage-sama" Ino spoke, tripping over her own words as she did so.

"No" Tsunade asked teasingly "I suppose it wouldn't be that necessary now would it. Lee is a big boy, he can take care of himself...Although I do wonder how his resolve will hold against a cute nurse such as Sakura" Tsunade said, letting them know that she over heard their conversation by using Ino earlier comment.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura blurted out no longer able to stay quiet. Her face much like Ino's was a deep red shade very similar to the lines on Inuzuka Kiba's face.

Tsunade laughed good naturedly before saying "Hai, hai I've had enough fun for one day" she said still snickering between some of her words. "You two are free to go" she stated.

"Eh...both of us" Sakura asked blankly "B-but what about the rest of my shift" she questioned not really sure if it was alright for her to leave or not.

Tsunade waved the question off by saying "Didn't you come into work early this morning? You've already put in enough hours for today; it's only natural that you get to leave early as well."

Sakura beamed at this, knowing that she really didn't want to spend the rest of the day in the hospital. She flashed Ino the same cheery smile before helping the other girl out of bed. After Ino was removed from the stiff bed, a light shade of pink still present on her cheeks; the two girls bowed to Tsunade before exiting the room.

"Oh and Sakura one more thing" Tsunade yelled down the hall way after the pair had walked away, unable to hold back one more witty remark. The pink haired girl turned and blankly store at the Hokage, silently asking what was it she wanted. "Don't wear Yamanaka-chan out too much; she is on vacation after all"

Both chunin to the Godaime's pleasure became the brightest shade of red she had ever seen. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" Sakura shouted back absolutely shocked that the Hokage would say such things! Tsunade let out a deep chortle of laughter before walking away from the blushing girls still laughing as she muttered something under her breath sounding an awful lot like 'young love', which only made the two kunoichi blush even further. Sakura sighed before saying to Ino "We better leave here quickly before Tsunade-sama decides she's really in the joking mood" she then took a tighter hold onto the taller girl's arm and proceeded to drag her down the hallway.

"You mean to say that that could have gone worse" Ino asked not believing that anything could have made those moments any more embarrassing.

Sakura turned her head slightly and looked Ino straight in the eye with such a serious look in her on her face that Ino almost flinched as she said "You have no idea"

With the mental picture of an evil Tsunade decked out in devil horns and a pitch fork upon exiting Konoha's hospital, Yamanaka Ino found herself wishing never to get on the Hokage's bad side.

* * *

A/N: Guys I am sooo sorry that this took me forever to post! I really didn't know how I was going to write this chapter and I really do hope that it turned out alright, seeing as I made all of you wait so long to read it. Unfortunately I've hit a major roadblock in this story and I'm not too sure how the next few chapters are going to turn out. I only expect to pull out two or three chapters before it's done. Once again I am really really sorry it took so long to update, and I apologize in advance for the slow updates that are to come. 


	6. Dark cloud with a sliver lining

Ch6

Rock Lee paced anxiously around in one of the many stores in Konoha, wishing with all of his flaming passion that the store owner would hurry up. He had promised Sakura that he would be back shortly, however his brilliant idea was taking longer then he had anticipated. The last thing Lee wanted to do was go back on his promise and disappoint his angel. So with that thought raging in his mind it wasn't much of a surprise that when the sound of approaching footsteps rang in his ears Lee practically jumped towards the checkout counter, eagerly awaiting for the owner to show him the contents of his purchase.

A tall middle age man casually strolled out of one of the back rooms of the cozy floral shop holding in his arms two brilliantly arranged bouquets of flowers. "Rock Lee-san was it" the older man asked.

"Yes that is I" Lee shouted enthusiastically, causing the other man to recoil slightly. But alas there was no way for Lee to hold back from using such a high tone of voice, how could use a clam more acceptable 'inside voice' when he was so vigorous on the inside that nothing could hold back his youthful dynamism! The flower arrangements before him were so beautiful that even he with his extensive vocabulary could not find words to capture the true beauty of these magnificent flowers.

The older of the two coughed before continuing. "Well Rock-san based on our conversation earlier, you said that you wanted flowers that uh 'yelled with a youthful fervor I am terribly sorry for my un-gentlemen like actions today, please accept these as a token of my sincerest apology'" the man reiterated.

"Yes! I did" Lee yelled once more, excitement plainly evident in his eyes despite their pitch black color.

Once again the man stirred at Lee's loudness "um...yes...Well I'm fairly certain that there isn't a flower in existence that says all of that" at this news Lee's face became slightly crestfallen. "However, these Hyacinth-" the florist continued and pointed at the purple flowers in the bunch "express sorrow and ask the receiver for forgiveness" Lee nodded his bowl cut head in satisfaction at this piece of information. "Also, here we have the daffodils you requested, and I hope you don't mind that I added some buttercups to make the whole thing look more vibrant, cheerful, and more appealing to the eyes." Lee nodded a few more times approving greatly in this man's choice of flowers. "As for this particular bouquet of flowers over here" he said and gestured to the second arrangement of flowers. "I believe you wanted to give these to your sweetheart"

Lee straightened his posture before declaring proudly "I care for Sakura-san very deeply, it is my love for her that allows fuels my heart to beat on as hard as it does"

The florist stared at the tai-jutsu master unblinkingly for a few seconds before shaking his head and any thought he was thinking at that moment and returned to the task at hand "Yes…well um… I believe that these flowers will express your feeling for her very nicely" he said and went on to explain the each flower that were put into the second bunch. Blue Camellias that said 'you are a flame in my heart'; Purple Larkspurs that expressed one's first love, lastly in the center of all the blue and purple flowers was a sling red rose signifying pure love.

After explaining all of this to Lee the man looked up at the green shinobi and was surprised at what he saw. "S-son are you alright" he asked even though by now the florist knew that Lee defiantly had more then one loose screw rolling around in his head. Yet he never would have expected anyone sane or not, to sob over nothing like Lee was doing.

"Y-Yes I am fine...wait no...No I am not" Lee managed to say between snivels. "I am more then just fine! These tears you see before you are a sign of my happiness and joy. For you...you good sir have made my mission a success...How...how ever can I repay you" Lee asked and looked up at the man with water still flowing out of his dark colored eyes, letting out a snort as he sent back the snot that began to run out of his nose.

"85 ryo sounds about right" the man said sheepishly, not understanding in the least bit what was wrong with the boy standing in front of him.

Lee slammed nearly three times the amount mentioned on the counter; "Kind sir, I Rock Lee am greatly indebted to you and your generosity" Lee said and grabbed the man's unwilling hand, grasping tight with his other hand.

"It's...kinda my job. You really don't need to be so grateful" the man said uneasily not liking the way Lee wasn't letting go of his hand.

"Nonsense" Lee proclaimed at the top of his lungs.

The older man who was beginning to grow tired of Lee's shouting and pointed out. "You might want to hurry in delivering those flowers to your beloved. It looks like another storm is about ready to blow through" he said gesturing toward the gray clouds that loomed outside of the shop.

"That's right!" Lee yelled "I promised Sakura-san that I would be back in a jiffy" he then carefully yet swiftly picked up the two bouquets of flowers and was at the exit of the shop in a flash. "Thank you so very much sir for the flowers" Lee bowed towards the florist and ran out of the shop just as rain began to descend from the darkened sky. Yamanaka Inoichi shook his graying blond head at Lee's departure, silently hoping that that boy didn't start to become a regular at his shop.

The green beast skipped merrily in the rain while he made his way back to the hospital. The thought of sprinting to the medical facility as if hell itself was gnawing at his heals was an alternative option of travel that was brushed off rather quickly. Running at such speeds would surely mar the stunning flowers that rested peacefully in his callused hands. Besides it was a sin against one's youthfulness to not enjoy the summer's rains. Lee only felt pity for those running for shelter, for they could not feel the sky's tears on their faces or the heaven's gentle touch graze though their hairs.

As the jade ninja gaily galloped past those who were heading to dryer grounds, he saw in the distance two foolish civilians seeking sanctuary under a large tree. Lee shook his head at such actions, "Silly people don't they know that standing under a tree during a storm is dangerous" he spoke aloud to himself. Even though the road to that particular tree was actually heading away from the hospital Lee decided that a quick detour wouldn't hurt, after all it was for good cause. When he pranced closer to the pair, it dawned on Lee that it was a couple under that tree, seeing as the silhouettes of the two were embracing each other like lovers tended to do. Although he knew it would be rude to disturb them, the green beast also knew that nature was not kind to the ignorant and that lighting could very well strike that tree and strike down the lovers while they were only guilty of expressing their young and adoring love for each other.

Lee was not prepared in the least bit for what flashed though his vision as he further approached the pair "S...s-sakura...san" he whispered, unable to comprehend what was going on.

There under the tree was the woman he admired fiercely, her arms wrapped around another, her lips entangled with someone Lee wished to be a stranger, for he didn't want this anger, this hatred in his heart to be directed at a friend. Yet his feelings betrayed him as he began to loathe Ino. She was his friend; she knew that he loved Sakura! Why would she do this to him? Was it retribution for the injuries he had caused her earlier that day?

No...No that wasn't correct; even though he was beyond any mere form of angry, Lee would not let that anger blind him. Not even a fool would be able to deny the love before them; it was unmistakable that the two cared for each other deeply. Ino wasn't purposely trying to hurt him nevertheless the pain didn't stop it. In fact that pain doubled when it dawned on Lee that Sakura...his angel...the girl he had loved for years, didn't, and probably never would feel the same way about him.

It took a second for him to realize that his vision was getting blurry and that their was something warm running down his face, but once Lee understood that he had been crying, the floodgates opened and he began to bawl. His grip on the flowers in his hands loosened and the breath taking bouquets hit the cold wet pavement with a barely audible _thump_, but the sound of his heart shattering echoed in his ears as he too dropped to the ground _'Why...How, could this hurt so badly'_ Lee asked himself. Why did he feel as if his heart had turned to ice, pumping nothing but this unwelcoming cold feeling though out his body?

Unable to watch the pair lock lips over and over again or bear to listen to their satisfied gasps and moans, Lee ran. He picked up his emotionally broken body and ran as fast as his legs would carry him; trying frantically to out run the anger and depression that attacked his mind and body, desperately trying to out run the painful images in his head; yet at the same time failing miserably. Lee too powerless to outrun it all let out a loud yell that sounded more like a wounded animal howling then a man's screaming.

Sakura pulled away from Ino, her breathing slightly off causing her sentence to sound rushed as she asked "Did you hear that?"

It took the dazed blonde a second to comprehend Sakura's question, but when she did speak up her voice had a dreamy kind of tone to it "Yeah I did...what was that?" Ino asked and looked around trying to find the source of such an awkward sound. She never found the source of that weird noise; however Ino's pale eyes spotted flowers a few yards from where she and Sakura were standing.

"Huh, what are flowers doing in a place like this" Sakura asked voicing the question that Ino was thinking the moment she spotted them.

Ino shrugged her shoulders "I don't know. It is possible that somebody dropped while them trying to out run the storm and the wind carried it away" she suggested.

"I guess... but I don't see anyone around" Sakura noted as she turned her pink colored head around trying to look for the owner of the flowers. "That's a shame they look real pretty" Sakura said and ventured out from under the tree and the protection it gave to walk over towards the two bouquets to take a closer look at them. "...Hey Ino, they look as if there from your family shop"

"Really" Ino asked and walked over to where Sakura and the flowers lay. "Yeah, their definitely from our store" she stated when she saw the trademark design of the hiragana character for **Ya** on the wrappings of the bouquets. Having grown up in that flower shop she knew that emblem very well; also having to work in that flowerily environment most of her life made Ino fluent in the language that the plants spoke silently. She read the flowers before her like a scroll and began to ponder deeply about who would just abandon such a meaningful message.

"Um…since there's no one around you think it'd be alright to take them home with us…I'd feel really bad just leaving them in the rain like this" Sakura asked hesitantly, they were very nice looking flowers, and nice things shouldn't be disregarded in the rain so carelessly. But then again they weren't her flowers they were someone else's, they really should try to find the owner and return it to them. '_Or here's a thought…FORGET ABOUT THE STUPID PLANTS AND GET YOUR DAMNED ARSE OF THIS BAD WEATHER BEFORE YOU GET US BOTH SICK'_ Inner Sakura yelled, the tiny chibi Sakura could be seen in one of the more darker parts of Sakura's mind shivering underneath a rain cloud that had manifested in the back of Sakura's mind.

Sakura herself was about to hypercritically shout back something along the lines of 'you don't need to yell', however such actions were halted by when she saw Ino pick up the bouquets and flash her a gentle smile; which quickly silenced both Sakuras.

"I think taking them would be ok…somehow I get this strange feeling that they were meant for us in the first place" Ino mused, carefully studying the flowers in her grasp making sure that she wasn't mistaken by what she saw in them.

Sakura looked up at Ino with a blank expression on her face and asked "Eh…why do you say that" she waited patiently for Ino to answer her, not minding the rain that fell over her and her partner.

Ino shook her head at the question, unintentionally shaking off any rain droplets that soaked her blonde head as she did so and responded "Not here, we probably shouldn't be standing out in the rain…it might be good for these flowers but it's not so good for our health"

Sakura faked a pout and replied "Fine." Once more, she took hold of her lover's arm and began to pull her off into the distance. "But no more getting sidetracked"

Ino smirked at this remark and retorted "Oh, you didn't seem to mind are last little detour"

Sakura teasingly punched Ino in the shoulder earning a playful protest from the other chuunin. She then let go of the hand she was so tightly holding on to just a moment ago to get away from Ino's counterattack. The two girls soon began their ritual of playing cat and mouse, all the while running and laughing in the rain. Despite the fact that they were no more then five minutes away from their apartment complex, it took them twenty-five minutes due to the fun they were having while flocking in the rain wholeheartedly enjoying the other's company.

Now positively drenched by the once light rain and now raging storm Sakura and Ino scampered into the warm apartment, clinging to each other for warmth as they dislodged saturated their feet from soaked shoes. For the most part the two were chilled to the bone, each letting out the occasional quivered breath while rubbing limbs together in the futile attempt that friction would heat up their frigid forms.

"S-Sss-so" Ino stuttered though chattering teeth. "Who gets to enjoy the nice warm shower first?"

Sakura looked at her new found lover with a face that was unreadable, and masked by a peculiar expression that Ino couldn't quite place. It was evident that neither wanted to go second, nor be selfish and call dibs while the other suffered and waited...However there was a way to avoid those scenarios.

"Well...you know" Sakura began her mouth hitching up into a familiar grin that Ino recognized right away.

"You truly are the Hokage's assistant aren't you dekochin" Ino mused as she could easily picture that same Chester cat grin on Tsunade's face. Sakura merely flashed the blonde chunin a much more sinister smirk before dragging her baffled form away from the doorway and toward the washroom.


End file.
